Author: Linda Ershow-Levenberg

If you apply for Medicaid benefits to pay for long-term care in a nursing home, assisted living or at home, you have to be prepared for the grueling 5-year look-back, a process that can leave you in a quagmire as you search for answers to the most minute questions about the personal financial lifestyle of your household or the applicant you’re assisting. Medicaid is now being referred to...

Back on June 5, 2014 I posted a blog called Advance Directives for Lifestyle. My concept was that as we age, we have to think about how our life will be managed by a third party when we aren’t so capable any more, and we should build more instructions into our documents to guide our agents regarding our preferences. Now I have ideas on strengthening the Durable Power of Attorney to build...

I am sure you’ve seen or heard about the changes coming to the NJ MLTSS Medicaid program with respect to applicants whose gross monthly income exceeds the “income cap,” which is presently $2,163. I’ve blogged about this over the last few months. Well it’s official now – the State has confirmed that December 1 is indeed the date in which this new procedure...

If you’ve been a designated as someone’s “Power of Attorney,” they’ve given you a big responsibility. The job is different than managing your own money. You are a fiduciary with a duty to the principal (the person who selected  you). You have to safeguard the assets of your “principal,” for their wellbeing and benefit. You need to stay aware of all...

If you are the advocate for someone in a nursing home — your spouse, parent, friend, relative — you may sometimes notice unusual behavior which is different from what you are accustomed to seeing with your loved one. Speak up. Ask the social worker what has changed. Is there a new roommate? A different aide waking the resident up in the morning? Is there another resident who is...

You may have heard that you should set things up to “avoid probate.” Bank or brokerage personnel may have recommended that you ” add a pay on death beneficiary, or a joint owner, so you can avoid probate.” There are fallacies built into that advice which can lead to unintended complications after death. Estate administration is a process that can include many elements...

Last week I saw “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” a drama at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 47th Street in NYC. What an excellent production. http://curiousonbroadway.com/?gclid=CKa58f_qkMECFa1m7AoddGsArQ Based on a novel written in the first person by the protagonist, 15-year old Christopher Boone, it’s a story about a weird discovery he makes one evening,...

In a new but unpublished decision by the Superior Court, Appellate Division, a person applying for benefits under the State’s Traumatic Brain Injury Fund (TBIF)  was denied reimbursement for certain equipment due to apparent failure to properly follow all of the procedural requirements for obtaining same. B.B. V. Division of Disability Services ( A-3151-12T3, decided Nov. 17, 2014). The...

Legislation is pending in the Congress concerning the payment of a veteran’s survivor benefits. Under current law, a veteran’s survivor benefits which are payable to the veteran’s children must be paid directly to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is disabled and is dependent upon other governmental benefits which are means-tested, this could cause the recipient to be...

On Tuesday December 2, 2014 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, there will be a free symposium on aging and caregiving at the JCC at 1391 Martine Avenue, Scotch Plains NJ 07076 called “Managing the Aging Process – Practical Advice for Adults with Aging Relatives.” Here’s the flyer: Center for Hope (3) Supper is included free! The event is co-sponsored by the JCC and the Center for...